Academic Integrity Policy

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Academic Integrity Policy

Authority:

Academic and Student Affairs

Date enacted or revised:

Enacted January 2016; Revised February 2016; Revised July 2016

Academic Integrity

The purpose of the Academic Integrity policy is to provide students, faculty, and staff with guidelines about expectations for academic integrity and what behaviors violate academic integrity, and the process for addressing academic integrity issues. McNeese State University seeks to strengthen the value of student academic achievement by fostering a learning environment which is based on honesty, respect, fairness, responsibility, accountability, and excellence in the search for truth and knowledge. The University expects members of its academic community to uphold the policy for academic integrity.

Definitions Related to the Academic Integrity Policy

Cheating: Cheating is defined as the act of giving unauthorized assistance to or receiving unauthorized assistance from another individual or other source for the purpose of completing academic assignments or other requirements. Plagiarism includes using another’s writing, ideas, or work as one’s own and is considered cheating. Academic requirements include, but are not limited to, completion of homework, tests, projects, research assignments, written papers, or other course requirements. A cheating violation may result in a penalty imposed by the instructor and/or may be referred to the assistant vice president for university services for review. The assistant vice president may investigate the matter or refer it to the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee.
Examples of cheating include, but are not limited to:

during an examination or when completing assignments, receiving or giving information that aides in answering examination questions or completing the assignment unless the assignment is specifically designed by the instructor for group participation and collaborative work;

allowing another student to copy work or view examination answers;

plagiarizing or representing another person's work (published or unpublished) as one's own without appropriate citations (in some cases specific course guidelines may more thoroughly define plagiarism and/or what constitutes other forms of cheating);

copying all or part of another's work and claiming it as one's own without appropriate citations;

copying all or parts of information (either word for word or with interchanging words) without citing the source;

obtaining, distributing, or referring to a copy of an examination which the instructor and/or department has not authorized to be made available for such purpose;

submitting work that has been previously or is being concurrently used in a different class by oneself or by another student. (Special written permission from the instructor who assigns work must be obtained to develop work for a class which was prepared for another class.);

misrepresentation of data for any purpose;

other examples of academic misconduct such as, but not limited to viewing inappropriate sources to gain assistance during an examination; allowing another person to complete exams or assignments; creating and sharing inappropriate sources for use in examinations.

Falsification: Falsification is defined as altering official University documents, forging signatures of University officials or any other individual, or any attempt to misrepresent official documents or records. Falsification is a violation policy and when there is reason to believe falsification has occurred the issue is referred to assistant vice president for university services who will determine if the case should be presented to the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee or handled otherwise.Unauthorized Access: Unauthorized access refers to acquiring or forcing unauthorized access to property, information, academic resources or materials which belong to another person or department. Materials may belong to another student, a faculty or staff member, or the University, and can be acquired in any form. Allowing an unauthorized user to access University software by sharing login credentials for any University account also qualifies as a violation of this policy. Unauthorized access is a violation of policy and when there is reason to believe unauthorized access has occurred the issue is referred to the assistant vice president of university services who will determine if the case should be presented to the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee or handled otherwise.

Reporting Violations of Academic Integrity

Violations of academic integrity, falsification, and unauthorized access should be reported to the assistant vice president for university services.

If the faculty member handles the situation, violations of academic integrity and the penalty imposed by faculty should be reported in writing by the faculty member to the academic department head and the Office of University Services.

A student or non-faculty employee wishing to report a violation of academic integrity should inform the appropriate instructor or the assistant vice president of university services.

Consequences for Violations of Academic Integrity

Withdrawal from a course may not supersede any disciplinary measures imposed by the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee. Failing grades may be retroactively assigned when cheating or academic dishonesty are detected after course grades are posted or after a student withdraws from a course or withdraws, resigns, or graduates from the University. A failing grade assigned after a student graduates that effects that student’s eligibility to graduate may result in revocation of a degree.

Academic misconduct by a student is determined by the faculty member under whom such misconduct occurs. Instructors have the option of presenting possible academic integrity violations directly to the assistant vice president for university services who will determine if the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee should hear the case.

The penalty for cheating or plagiarism, which is determined by the faculty member, may range from an "F" on the specific assessment (quiz, test, project, etc.), to an "F" in the course. If a student enrolled in a graduate program earns a grade of “F”, the student is dismissed from the graduate program.

An accused student may opt to accept the penalty imposed by a faculty member or may appeal to the assistant vice president for university services for a hearing by the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee. Committee decisions are binding on all parties.

The University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee may confirm an instructor's penalty and/or move to impose other penalties including suspension or dismissal from the University. Penalties imposed and/or confirmed by Committee may be appealed for procedural review only. In cases of suspension of one year or more, and in cases of dismissal, students may appeal for a procedural review only to the University President and then through processes specified by the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors. A student dismissed from the graduate program must appeal first to the Graduate Council which may conduct a review of the case or confirm the committee decision.

If the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee finds that no academic integrity violation has occurred, the instructor must work with the Committee and college dean or graduate school dean to adjust the student's grade as appropriate.

Cases involving falsification or unauthorized access must be submitted to the assistant vice president for university services who will determine if a hearing by University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee is appropriate. The penalty for falsification or unauthorized access may be determined by the assistant vice president or the University Conduct and Academic Integrity Committee.